Verse

Genesis 45:6

ESV For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.
NIV For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping.
NASB For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
CSB For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting.
NLT This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
KJV For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.

What does Genesis 45:6 mean?

Joseph's comment in the prior verse is profound (Genesis 45:5). He told the brothers who cruelly sold him into slavery, twenty years earlier, not to be distressed or angry with themselves. His point was not that they were innocent. Rather, Joseph has come to understand their actions as part of God's master plan. Without Joseph's suffering, he would not have been in his current position. Without Joseph in this position of power, his family likely would have starved. In the end, Joseph's enslavement was crucial to Israel's survival.

As Joseph goes on to express in this passage, God used his brothers' crime to save their family, the children of Israel. He reveals that the famine will last another five years (Genesis 41:28–30). With his authority, he can provide for his family even in these difficult times (Genesis 45:7–8).
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